Sunday, November 7, 2010

So.Cal Vacation (Part 2 of 3)

We decided to go to a town called Newport Beach. We heard it was a pretty little town. But we did not know it is exclusively a rich area. According to Wikipidia, more than a quarter households have an income greater than $200,000, and the median value for homes exceeds $1 million. Newport Beach is famous for its Gondola ride. But we did not take the Gondola ride. We have been to Venice, Italy, and went on Gondola ride. Compared to Venice, this city’s Gondola ride did not impress us.

The streets are beautiful. You can look at them all day.

Many TV serials are based on characters (people) living in Newport Beach.

In the evening we went to Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament. While having dinner, you can watch medieval style games and sword fighting. Six knights wearing full armor clash in a combat tournament for the title of King’s Champion.

Audiences are seated in 6 different section of the arena. People in each section are to root for their own knight. They are given the matching color hat for their knight. People take this fighting seriously and shout at the top of their voices. We were in the Green section. But that night, the Green knight did not win.

Inside the stadium everything is medieval. There are no forks and knives to eat. We have to eat with hands, just like the medieval times. Even the soup is to be drunk like you would drink a cup of coffee. All the employees (bartenders, sales people at the shops, waiters, bus boys, people who greet you at the door) address all customers in a royal fashion. All men are addressed “My Lord”. All women are addressed either ‘My Lady” or “My Princess”. I could not digest this. I don’t like it even when someone calls me ‘Sir’. But many Americans seem to love this.

Here is something funny. During the show, they would announce over the microphone any important occasion that day for people like birthdays, anniversaries, etc. This announcement was funny, I thought: “Mr. and Mrs. Xxxx are spending their honeymoon. But what the heck are you two doing here?”

Here is a picture of a hash brown from McDonald’s. Goes well with coffee. Nothing like, as they say in Tamil Oru Kadi Oru Kudi (one bite one sip).